Hot dogs and fireworks are now a fading memory. However, the freedom we celebrate on The Fourth of July and the leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence need to be remembered and honored every day of the year. So take a minute to think past the parties, the food, the bright sparklers, the store wide special sales in the malls, and answer the question “Would YOU have signed your name to a piece of paper that could mean losing everything?” Take a minute and think back to those leaders who did just that.

A group of 56 men put everything they owned on the line for a bigger vision of what really matters. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

FREEDOM is a word we take for granted today. And yes, with all the disappointments and concerns with our government, we still have more freedom than many, many parts of this hot and crowded world. So, take a minute and answer this question: “What would you do?”

Could you be a leader who risks your possessions, maybe even your life for the far away vision of such an abstract idea as freedom? Stop for a moment and consider what it would have been like to write your name on a document that would make you an enemy to a big part of your heritage. After all, the men who signed the Declaration had their roots in England.

The 56 were lawyers, merchants, and farmers. They had homes and families. They also had a dream. The dream of being free and independent to make their own choices. They wanted what we all want now: to be able to live our lives with our families and our friends in peace and prosperity. They wanted to choose their leaders not be told by a king they had not voted into office what they could and could not do.

Many lost their homes and many were imprisoned. Only a few, like Thomas Jefferson are remembered today. Yet, they were the heroes on whose shoulders we stand.

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Sylvia Lafair, PhD, is an international leadership and communications expert and president of CEO - Creative Energy Options, Inc., a global consulting company focused on optimizing workplace relationships. Dr. Lafair's talents to make the complex simple, has revolutionized the way employees cooperate and teams collaborate. Her award-winning book, "Don't Bring It to Work" (Jossey Bass) has been ranked in the top of Amazon's best-selling workplace books. She is often quoted as a workplace relationship expert in newspapers and magazines across the country, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, CIO Magazine, New York Times, as well as being on radio, webinars, television, and presenting at national conferences. Sylvia Lafair has two business blogs, "Elegant Leadership" and "On the Cutting Edge of Change," and is a contributing writer in WomenOnBusiness.com, Examiner.com, and EvanCarmichael.com, as well as other trade publications.